One of the last of the ‘Great Houses’ to be built in Ireland

Sir Gilbert de Nugent, who was originally from the Nogent-le-Rotrou area in France, came to Ireland as part of the Norman conquest of Ireland with his brother-in-law Hugh de Lacy in 1171.  Gilbert was granted the title Baron of Delvin within the Lordship of Meath and soon built a Norman castle in Delvin whose ruins can still be seen on the main street.  In 1632 Richard Nugent decided to build a new castle at this new location. It was again upgraded in 1876 to this impressive structure and was the last great Victorian Baronial house to be built in Ireland. It remained as the Nugent residence until 1922 when Patrick Nugent sold it and moved to Scotland. It became the home to a community of Australian nuns and after WW2 Manchester businessman and philanthropist Yankel Levy was persuaded to buy the castle for £30,000 and some 100 Jewish children, most of them were orphans of the Holocaust and were temporarily housed here which consequently bankrupted him. It is currently a golf course and is privately owned by Mrs. Dillon.